The Raiders traded defensive end Maxx Crosby in March. They won’t be trading him in November.
Unless they do.
The official word from Adam Schefter of ESPN is that the Raiders have “no plans” to trade Crosby. We’ve heard that message plenty of times over the years from teams that had “no intent” or “no intention” or “no plan” to trade a player.
Until they traded him.
It happened this week. The Titans had no plans to trade defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, until they did. They reportedly decided to start listening to the inquiries they were receiving on Tuesday. Two days later, Simmons was in Chicago.
The simple reality is that teams that want Crosby will keep calling the Raiders. If the Raiders lose the next two games before the deadline and fall to 3-6, maybe they’ll decide to do what they already decided to do in March.
The trade of Crosby to the Ravens for a pair of first-round picks fell apart after the Ravens decided they weren’t comfortable with the condition of his surgically-repaired knee. Still, it shows that the Raiders have already crossed the mental bridge required to pull the pin on a trade. If they did it in March, why wouldn’t they do it now — if they get an offer they like?
The problem is that whatever they get now will be compared to what they could have gotten in March. If it’s less than two first-round picks, it could be a challenge to sell the move to the fan base.
Or maybe not. After four straight losses, reality has set in for the once 3-0 Raiders. They still have plenty of holes on the roster. Trading Crosby would give them the ability to add young, cheap players. And it would free up cash and cap space to pay other veterans. Even if it’s less than two ones, it’s more than keeping Crosby through the never-ending rebuild.
In trading Simmons, the Titans added two first-round picks and avoided the bulk of his $105 million extension. The Titans need players, and the Simmons trade will become five or six. The Raiders could do something similar with Crosby, because they need players, too.
For now, they have “no plans.” We now wait to see whether, over the next nine days, their plans change.
And what, you say, of the notion that Crosby doesn’t want to go? Absent a no-trade clause, he won’t have much of a choice. And if/when he lands with a contender, it’s hard to imagine that he’d have many complaints.
Raiders Clips
The Jets are set to play without running back Breece Hall again this Sunday.
Hall has missed the last four games with a quad injury and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that he is expected to be inactive against the Raiders. Hall has been practicing on a limited basis for the last two weeks and he’s been listed as questionable, but it appears the wait for his return will continue.
Braelon Allen has been the Jets’ lead back in Hall’s absence. He has 72 carries for 357 yards and a touchdown during his time in the starting lineup.
The Jets are also likely to be without linebacker David Bailey. The first-round pick is listed as doubtful due to a groin injury.
The Jets ruled defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat out for Week 8 on Friday and they ruled him out for at least three more games on Saturday.
Sweat has been placed on injured reserve due to the knee injury he suffered in last Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. He had 17 tackles and two tackles for loss while starting six of the team’s first seven games.
The Jets filled his roster spot by signing defensive tackle Payton Page off of their practice squad. He appeared in four games for the Jets last season.
The Jets also announced that they have elevated offensive lineman Brian Banks and linebacker Quinton Bell from the practice squad. Bell’s elevation indicates David Bailey will be inactive after being listed as doubtful with a groin injury.
The Raiders aren’t sure if they’ll have one of their starting offensive linemen for Sunday’s game against the Jets.
Right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson has been listed as questionable because of a back injury. Powers-Johnson was added to the report after he missed practice on Thursday and he returned for a limited practice on Friday.
Defensive end Patrick Johnson (stinger) has been ruled out for this weekend and the Raiders announced that they will not activate tight end Carter Runyon (foot) from injured reserve.
Wide receiver Jack Bech (forearm) is also on injured reserve and he is listed as questionable to make his return to the lineup.
Tight end Brock Bowers (calf), defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi (shoulder), offensive tackle DJ Glaze (ankle), tight end Ian Thomas (shoulder), linebacker Quay Walker (chest), and cornerback Eric Stokes (illness) are all off the injury report.
The Jets are unlikely to have one of their top young defensive players when they host the Raiders on Sunday.
Head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters in his Friday press conference that edge rusher David Bailey will not practice on Friday and is doubtful for the game.
Bailey is dealing with a groin injury and has not practiced this week.
The No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft, Bailey has registered 5.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and nine QB hits so far this season. He also has three forced fumbles.
Running back Breece Hall (quad) will once again be limited in practice on Friday and is questionable for Sunday’s game. He has been limited in practice all week.
Offensive lineman Dylan Parham (knee) will also be questionable.
Defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat (knee) has been ruled out.
The Jets practiced without first-round pick David Bailey for the second straight day on Thursday.
Bailey has missed both days with a groin injury. The second overall pick has made a quick transition to the pro ranks with 5.5 sacks in his first seven games as an NFL linebacker.
News was better for running back Braelon Allen. He moved up to full participation after being limited with an ankle injury on Wednesday.
Offensive lineman Max Mitchell (concussion), linebacker Joseph Ossai (ankle), and defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat (knee) remained out of practice. Running back Breece Hall (quad) and guard Dylan Parham (knee) have been limited in both of this week’s practices.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty took a shot at the Jets defense from Las Vegas ahead of this Sunday’s game between the teams and it was heard in New Jersey.
Jeanty said that he thinks the Raiders can “definitely get the run game going” because the Jets defense has a “couple guys out there that don’t really want to tackle.” Getting the run game going has been an issue for Jeanty and the Raiders this season and they enter Week 8 at No. 31 in the league with three yards per carry.
Jets defensive coordinator Brian Duker said at a Thursday press conference that he had seen what Jeanty had to say and that his only response was that he has “plenty of confidence in our guys.” Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said that Jeanty’s words had also made it to the team’s locker room.
“Whenever our name is brought up, whether it be an opponent or a past opponent, it catches our eye,” Fitzpatrick said, via SNY. “The way that I operate, I go out there and play 110 percent effort. No matter who I’m playing against, no matter what they said. Obviously certain things can add a little more fuel to the fire, but at the end of the day I got to go out there and do my job. I think most guys in this locker room operate in the same fashion.”
While Jeanty has struggled thus far, it’s not hard to see why he thinks the Jets would be a good team to face. After good showings the first two weeks, they have allowed 152.6 yards per game over the last five contests. Whichever side reverses those trends will have a better chance of prevailing in Week 8.
Bills safety Sam Franklin will be available for this Sunday’s game against the Ravens after making a successful appeal of a one-game suspension.
Franklin was suspended for spitting at Raiders right tackle DJ Glaze late in a Week 6 win, but the penalty was reduced to a $14,926 fine after an appeal last week. That change has not changed Glaze’s account of what happened.
Glaze said on Wednesday that Franklin “was, like, face to face, and he just let it rip,” but believes the suspension was overturned because there was not the same kind of clear evidence that led to Franklin’s teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s ejection and suspension for spitting at Glaze’s teammate Brock Bowers.
“That’s why I feel like it kind of got taken away. . . . He did,” Glaze said, via TheAthletic.com. “He said he didn’t. You know, he did. But it is what it is at this point. It happened. And the NFL did what they did about it.”
Franklin has denied the allegation, which was lodged by the Raiders and which Bills head coach Joe Brady dismissed as “hearsay” during his own press conference on Wednesday.
Jon Gruden asked for it, and Jon Gruden definitely is getting it.
After a legal odyssey that somehow staved off the NFL’s obsession to force his five-year-old lawsuit into arbitration controlled by the league, Gruden won the ability to have his claims litigated in open court. Now that the litigation is moving forward, Gruden is drowning in the obligations of the discovery process.
In August, the presiding judge publicly criticized Gruden and his lawyers for “lack of compliance with the rules.” More recently, it got worse for Gruden.
A lot worse.
Michael McCann of Sportico has obtained a transcript of a recent hearing regarding the ongoing efforts of the NFL to secure information to which the league is entitled, under the so-called rules of civil procedure. And the transcript sends an unmistakable message: Judge Joe Hardy seems to suspect that Gruden could be actively hiding evidence that could harm his case.
The current focal point is a phantom BlackBerry device. It existed, and now it doesn’t.
“So did your client lie to you about a BlackBerry?” Judge Hardy said at one point during the hearing.
“It’s not a lie, Your Honor, it’s a mistake,” attorney Adam Hosmer-Henner responded. “And what [Gruden] told me is that he had an old BlackBerry that he couldn’t turn on.”
The judge apparently senses that Gruden’s side is playing a shell game with the BlackBerry device in question.
“Did anybody from your office ever check to see if there was an actual BlackBerry?” Judge Hardy asked Hosmer-Henner.
“Mr. Gruden resides in Florida,” Hosmer-Henner said. “We did not send an individual to rummage around his house to look for a BlackBerry. And what we did do is promptly respond to interrogatory responses providing all this information. With regard to the forensic collection, Mr. Gruden was at an event at the White House last week. He flew back that night in order to allow the forensic examiners selected by the NFL to go through his electronic devices and —"
“So let me interject there, too, because if you can’t tell, this process is frustrating,” Judge Hardy said. “And you, on behalf of your client, keep saying things that seem to indicate, well, Mr. Gruden is super important and super special. And, you know, we should accommodate his schedule. For example, you just mentioned, well, he was at an event at the White House.”
At one point during the hearing, Judge Hardy said this: “We have no reason to trust representations by Mr. Gruden.”
Judge Hardy, per McCann, ordered Gruden to compensate the league for a portion of the attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with the ongoing effort to force him to comply with the rules. That’s an unusual development in any civil case, and it underscores Judge Hardy’s growing frustration with Gruden and his lawyers.
Here’s why it’s a major problem for Gruden. The same judge who has come to the conclusion that the “representations by Mr. Gruden” should not be trusted will be making many key decisions about the merits of Gruden’s case. If it proceeds to trial, Gruden will testify under the supervision of Judge Hardy.
And Gruden, who has a strong will, a quick temper, and a profane vocabulary, will be scrutinized very carefully by a judge who has already decided that he has “no reason to trust representations by Mr. Gruden.”
So, no, it’s not going well for Gruden. And it’s his own fault. At best, he has failed to honor the duty to comply with the rules of the legal process he initiated. At worst — and as the judge undoubtedly suspects — Gruden possibly is trying to hide a device that may contain communications that could hurt, if not kill, his entire case.
On the surface, the idea that someone connected to the NFL weaponized supposedly confidential emails from an unrelated investigation to force Gruden out of his head-coaching job with the Raiders during the 2021 season is troubling. It becomes impossible for Gruden (who is already operating at a disadvantage due to the objectively problematic contents of the emails that were leaked) to prove a violation of applicable legal principles if he creates the impression that he’s not cooperating with the process.
Or, even worse, if he is deliberately and actively trying to conceal other emails and/or text messages.
At this point, it becomes critical for Gruden to do anything and everything he can to regain the trust of the judge. Without that, it’s just a matter of time before Gruden loses his case — and possibly ends up being required to reimburse the NFL for millions of dollars in fees and expenses incurred in defending itself against a case that Gruden seems to not be taking as seriously as he should.
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is having a terrible year, but he thinks he can turn that around on Sunday against the Jets.
Jeanty said in the Raiders’ locker room on Wednesday that he thinks there are players on the Jets’ defense who don’t want to tackle him, and that excites him when he sees it on tape.
“I think we can definitely get the run game going,” Jeanty said when asked about the Jets’ defense. “Get back on track and really get after these guys. A couple guys out there that don’t really want to tackle, but I’m not going to say names.”
The Raiders started the season 3-0 but are now 3-4. Jeanty said that during this losing streak, he and his teammates are doing a good job of challenging each other to improve without playing the blame game.
“I think the main thing is we’ve just to to stick together. You lose games, everybody starts questioning things,” Jeanty said. “Most importantly, not pointing fingers. Everybody has to work together. It’s a team sport.”
Jeanty is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry this season, and that needs to improve in a hurry. He believes it can improve, against a Jets defense that allowed Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon to rush for 103 yards and a touchdown last week. If it doesn’t improve against a Jets defense that doesn’t want to tackle, it may be time to ask bigger questions about why Jeanty can’t get going.
